For starters, this is the first time I've dug into the Touareg aside from VCDS, oil changes, and small projects. Suspension isn't my specialty and I always run into issues. Lo and behold, that theme continued!
Now, here's my lessons learned. The rear was harder to accomplish,but the front wasn't much easier. Removing the rear was easy, popping out the spare tire cover was easy. After it was out, I learned that all I had to do was pull towards the rear, and it'd come out with ease. The pieces with the chrome anchors need to be removed to allow access to the bolts as well.
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With the rear suspension out, loosen all of the pivot points, this'll make reinstall easier along with help keep the bushings from binding once the job is done.
For the springs, save yourself the headache. Don't bother with the typical harbor freight two piece design or the two piece loaners from an auto store.
Compressing the springs was done with this tool: Amazon Link
Essentially, put it in a vice, and go to town. There's no worry and it worked fine. Granted, I'm sure there's some bad castings that may break, but I had no issues.
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That pic was taken after the spacer install. Another thing to note is that before you take it apart, mark the position with a sharpie. upper part of the spring to the foam to the tophat, and bottom in a similar fashion.
I did run into issues with removing the tool from the springs on the rear. Simply unmount and give it a couple smacks with a deadblow and they'll go their separate ways without any drama.
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The reinstall sucked. It took a lot of hammering, jacking, pushing, pulling, bent a couple punches, but it eventually all came together. I'd recommend a 3-4 ft long piece of wood to use as leverage to push the hub down. I also completely disconnected the rear anti-sway bar for peace of mind.
All done on one side:
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Now for the fronts. The connectors are disconnected, and removed from the hub and tucked away. The upper part of the brake line is also pulled off of the top. Remove the front anti-sway link completely. The top bolt wont come out until the entire strut assembly is ready to come out, but it made life much easier. Now for the fun. I completely messed up the ball joint on the driver side by using a fork, and by also messing up the threads with a hammer. Frustration kicked in, all it left me was with a ball joint that needed to be rethreaded and now I need a new UCA. The balljoint needs to pushed out of the hub. I went to advanced auto and got a separator for under $30. Even with this tool, it took a lot and I thought something was going to break. That thing was going NOWHERE! No amount of hammer blows would pull that out.
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It's easier to use a piece of wood and push the UCA up to pull the strut out. This also works for reinstallation.
Here's a series of photos on the front, it was very simple and drama free. Mark it, replace the studs, and put it back together!
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Lining it all up during reinstall was a pain in the ass. Essentially it went
1) Bolt up the top of the strut with the upper sway link bolt installed (loosely).
2) Wrap a strap around the bottom of the strut and attempt to pull it in towards the body while pushing down on the hub
3) Push on the hub with a piece of wood as leverage
4) Use a punch to help guide the holes, and eventually get the bolt in
5) Use the jack to push it up and reinstall the nut on the balljoint. May need to use a piece of wood and push down on the balljoint to keep it from spinning, or use a T30 torx with an 18mm socket. I broke my T30 so wood and pressure it was!
Bolt everything back up, run the connectors and grommets and call it a day. This was on a LHD Touareg so the coolant bottle was in the way, ended up disconnecting all of the connectors and moving them out of the way to get a clear view of the area.
Looking back, I'd have loosened the LCA bushing on the front to help get more motion. It wouldn't have affected anything because the truck needs an alignment now regardless.
I think that's it, I hope someone finds it helpful as its info I'd have liked when tackling this.
Here's the end result!
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Edit:
Here's the results from the alignment, I'm still getting creaking in the front end when turning and moving slowly. That'll be shelved for another day!
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Now, here's my lessons learned. The rear was harder to accomplish,but the front wasn't much easier. Removing the rear was easy, popping out the spare tire cover was easy. After it was out, I learned that all I had to do was pull towards the rear, and it'd come out with ease. The pieces with the chrome anchors need to be removed to allow access to the bolts as well.
With the rear suspension out, loosen all of the pivot points, this'll make reinstall easier along with help keep the bushings from binding once the job is done.
For the springs, save yourself the headache. Don't bother with the typical harbor freight two piece design or the two piece loaners from an auto store.
Compressing the springs was done with this tool: Amazon Link
Essentially, put it in a vice, and go to town. There's no worry and it worked fine. Granted, I'm sure there's some bad castings that may break, but I had no issues.
That pic was taken after the spacer install. Another thing to note is that before you take it apart, mark the position with a sharpie. upper part of the spring to the foam to the tophat, and bottom in a similar fashion.
I did run into issues with removing the tool from the springs on the rear. Simply unmount and give it a couple smacks with a deadblow and they'll go their separate ways without any drama.
The reinstall sucked. It took a lot of hammering, jacking, pushing, pulling, bent a couple punches, but it eventually all came together. I'd recommend a 3-4 ft long piece of wood to use as leverage to push the hub down. I also completely disconnected the rear anti-sway bar for peace of mind.
All done on one side:
Now for the fronts. The connectors are disconnected, and removed from the hub and tucked away. The upper part of the brake line is also pulled off of the top. Remove the front anti-sway link completely. The top bolt wont come out until the entire strut assembly is ready to come out, but it made life much easier. Now for the fun. I completely messed up the ball joint on the driver side by using a fork, and by also messing up the threads with a hammer. Frustration kicked in, all it left me was with a ball joint that needed to be rethreaded and now I need a new UCA. The balljoint needs to pushed out of the hub. I went to advanced auto and got a separator for under $30. Even with this tool, it took a lot and I thought something was going to break. That thing was going NOWHERE! No amount of hammer blows would pull that out.
It's easier to use a piece of wood and push the UCA up to pull the strut out. This also works for reinstallation.
Here's a series of photos on the front, it was very simple and drama free. Mark it, replace the studs, and put it back together!
Lining it all up during reinstall was a pain in the ass. Essentially it went
1) Bolt up the top of the strut with the upper sway link bolt installed (loosely).
2) Wrap a strap around the bottom of the strut and attempt to pull it in towards the body while pushing down on the hub
3) Push on the hub with a piece of wood as leverage
4) Use a punch to help guide the holes, and eventually get the bolt in
5) Use the jack to push it up and reinstall the nut on the balljoint. May need to use a piece of wood and push down on the balljoint to keep it from spinning, or use a T30 torx with an 18mm socket. I broke my T30 so wood and pressure it was!
Bolt everything back up, run the connectors and grommets and call it a day. This was on a LHD Touareg so the coolant bottle was in the way, ended up disconnecting all of the connectors and moving them out of the way to get a clear view of the area.
Looking back, I'd have loosened the LCA bushing on the front to help get more motion. It wouldn't have affected anything because the truck needs an alignment now regardless.
I think that's it, I hope someone finds it helpful as its info I'd have liked when tackling this.
Here's the end result!
Edit:
Here's the results from the alignment, I'm still getting creaking in the front end when turning and moving slowly. That'll be shelved for another day!
